Ayatollah Khamenei meets with thousands of Iranian teachers.

Ayatollah Khamenei meets with thousands of Iranian teachers.

Ayatollah Khamenei meets with thousands of Iranian teachers.

In a meeting with thousands of teachers from across Iran this morning (Sunday), Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei described education as the cornerstone of science and research in the country and highlighted the need for serious attention by the officials to the implementation of the Document for Reforms in Education, saying, “The duty of the [ministry] of education is raising a generation that is ‘faithful; loyal; responsible; self-confident; innovative; honest; brave; modest; one of thinking and deliberation; caring for the country, establishment, and the people; and concerned about the interests of the country’.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution also described elections as a vital issue and rooted in the ideology of religious democracy in the Islamic Republic establishment, stressing, “The participation of all the people, with different political tastes, in the May 19 elections, guarantees the safeguarding of the country’s might, grandeur and immunity and with such a presence the enemy would never be able to do a damn thing against the Iranian nation.”

Ayatollah Khamenei commemorated the memory of Ayatollah Motahhari, describing the martyred teacher as a true instructor in speech, conduct and lifestyle, adding, “The enemies of humanity, the country and Islam took him from us but the books of that great man are nurturers of the mind and guiders toward Islamic teachings and utmost use must be made of these valuable works.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution then pointed to the importance and stature of teachers, saying, “The power, credibility and honor of the country are more than anything else dependent upon human resources and it is the teachers who are the builders of the future generation and its human resources.”
The Leader highlighted the need to appreciate the dignity and standing of teachers and to elevate their position in the society, saying, “Spending on teachers is a duty of the officials and the administration, because as I have repeatedly said spending on teachers is, in fact, an investment.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said the fulfillment of the huge responsibility of raising the future generation requires an increase in the preparedness of teachers, saying, “Therefore, I stress to the officials to regard with seriousness the Farhangian University, which trains teachers and is of great importance, and invest on it as much as they can.”

Pointing to the outstanding role of teachers in promoting ethics and positive characteristics in students, the Leader reiterated, “Through their conduct, benevolent, patient, religious and graceful teachers impart these features to students.”

Ayatollah Khamenei described political exploitation of teachers as being at odds with the standing of teachers and said, “Since the 1360s [1980s], I have been objecting to those seeking to use teachers as political instruments, because teachers are like precious diamonds that should not be used as playthings.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the imminent retirement of a large number of teachers, saying, “To make up for the shortage of teachers, the capacity of teacher training universities should increase and responsible organs should introduce criteria for the employment of teachers, so that people would not be admitted to the Ministry of Education unmethodically.”

The Leader described education as the cornerstone of science and research in the country, saying, “If the Ministry of Education moves based on sound policies and agendas, the country would be enriched in terms of science and research, but if the Education Ministry is left to its own devices, this infrastructure would be harmed and the resulting damage would be incalculable.”

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that the responsibility of the Ministry of Education is raising a generation, saying, “The [Ministry of] Education should set as its main target the raising of a generation that is faithful; loyal; responsible; self-confident; innovative; honest; brave; modest; one of thinking and deliberation; caring for the country, establishment, and the people; and concerned about the interests of the country.”

He added, “The prerequisite for the raising of a robust, resolute, innovative, front-running and active generation is that the [Ministry of] Education brings about the appropriate ground for teachers, students, parents and book writers and designers.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution warned of a current that is seeking to destroy the status and value of the Ministry of Education and undermine trust in this very important institution, reiterating, “This current is being led from outside the country and the only way to counter it is the removal of the weak points of the [Ministry of] Education and the grounds for infiltration.”

Ayatollah Khamenei described the condition of “gravitation toward universities” as one of the problems in the [Ministry of] Education, saying, “Gravitation toward universities is a wrong notion and a mistake, whose shadow unfortunately weighs down students from the beginning of admission to the school environment until the end of their studies in [the Ministry] of Education.”

He reiterated, “There are plenty of urgent and immediate needs unrelated to university education in the country, which is why I have for years been highlighting the issue of paying attention to industrial schools and vocational centers and promoting them.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the great number of people who now own jobs and livelihood after studying in industrial and vocational schools and learning various skills and described them as national assets, saying, “We need science, research and scientific growth, but this issue does not mean that all students should set universities as their goals.”

Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to the issue of the document on fundamental reforms in the Ministry of Education and criticized the failure to implement the document despite it being introduced several years ago, saying, “Why has the Document for Reforms in the [Ministry of] Education not gone into force yet? How longer should we wait for the byelaw of the reform document to be prepared?”

He said, “I earnestly call upon the distinguished minister and officials to follow up on the issue of the implementation of the reform document because the [Ministry of] Education requires a deep transformation far from superficial changes.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the endorsement of the UN and UNESCO’s Global Education 2030 Agenda by the administration and strongly criticized this issue, saying, “This document and the likes are not cases to which the Islamic Republic of Iran would submit and quietly signing and implementing this document is certainly not authorized and the relevant institutions have already been notified about this.”

Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated, “On what account does a so-called international organization, which is also under the influence of major powers, allow itself to order around nations with various histories, cultures and civilization.”

The Leader highlighted the fact that this move is wrong in principle, reiterating, “If you cannot oppose the move itself, openly declare that the Islamic Republic of Iran has [its own] high-level documents in education and does not need this one.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution criticized the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, saying, “This council should have been vigilant and not allowed the issue to advance so far that I would now have to prevent it.”

Ayatollah Khamenei stressed, “This is the Islamic Republic of Iran and in this country the basis is Islam and the [Holy] Qur’an. This is not a place where the defective, destructive and corrupt Western lifestyle would be able to wield influence. In the Islamic Republic establishment, the endorsement of such a document does not make sense.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution then pointed to the May 19 polls and described elections in the Islamic Republic establishment as a vital and extremely valuable issue, reiterating, “Elections in the Islamic Republic establishment have emerged from Islam and it is not like the [title of] ‘Republic’ has been appended to ‘Islam’ and had there been no elections, there would have remained no trace of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Ayatollah Khamenei described the massive presence of the people in various scenes particularly elections as a source of immunity for the country and protector of the interests of the nation and a cause for the grandeur of the establishment in the eyes of the enemies.

The Leader recalled a historical example involving a move by a European government to charge an Iranian president and summon him to court in the early 1370s [1990s], adding, “Although the president at the time maintained close ties with that government, the same European government charged him and summoned him to court and the only reason for the backtracking of that European government was the punch in the face that it received; therefore, the enemy is the enemy and does not change with [our] administrations.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution said the enemy will strike its poison whenever it can and will pay no heed to rhetoric, saying, “The only obstacle to the declaration of enmity by the enemy is the presence of people on the scene, because the grandeur of an 80-million strong country with powerful and smart human resources and millions of youths, will strike fear in the heart of the enemy.”

Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated, “If we want the grandeur and might of the Islamic Republic establishment to be kept and its immunity to stay, everyone should participate in the elections.”
He added, “If there is any shortcoming in the elections and some elements lay grounds for the despair of the people, the country would certainly be harmed and any individual involved in this harming would be responsible before the Almighty God.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to different political tastes and point of views and various inclinations in the choosing of candidates, reiterating, “In elections, everyone votes for whoever they approve of, but the main and important issue is the presence of all the people at the ballot boxes to demonstrate that they are ready to defend Islam and the establishment and safeguard the immunity of the country.”

Ayatollah Khamenei reiterated, “If by the grace of God, this resolve and effort of the people continue with the same intensity and grandeur, the enemy would never be able to do a damn thing against the Iranian nation.”

The Leader also pointed to the lunar calendar month of Sha’ban and the importance of taking advantage of the opportunity of the [festive occasion] of mid-Sha’ban for prayer and proximity to God, saying, “The month of Sha’ban is the month of prayer and appealing [to God] and is a prelude to the auspicious month of Ramadan and the paths toward prosperity and guidance have been clarified in the supplications provided.”

In remarks prior to the speech by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the minister of education described Teachers’ Day as an emblem for respecting the stature of teaching and learning, adding, “We have to once more review the thoughts, methods, and demeanor of martyr Motahhari in education and treat them as torches enlightening our path.”

Fakhruddin Ahmadi Danesh-Ashtiani said teachers enjoy the highest social dignity, saying, “The outlook of the [Ministry of] education should be transformed both at the cultural and political levels as well as at the executive level and new roles for schools and teachers be properly worked out.”